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October 28, 2005

TIME OUT: Conference Swag

We love it.

When the description is more interesting than the session, conference goers skip out to search for swag. This year’s ACP conference was swag deficient. Perhaps the hasty relocation to Kansas City from New Orleans caused vendors to scale back their presence, if they even showed up at all. However for every item we pass up, someone back home will want it.

I knew a copy editor who loved media pens. She squealed like it was Christmas morning when I returned from the ACP conference in Orlando with a 25 pens – all for her. On the final day of that conference, I asked conference organizers for extra name badges. They served our staff as reporting kits. They held our press passes, reporter’s notebooks, pens, and business cards.

A veteran of the journalism conference circuit, I’ve inadvertently started collecting reporters notebooks. I have about 75. Occasionally, I dig into my bag of swagand give a staffer a gift from the media gods. For many, a Knight-Ridder hacky sack or New York Times coffee mug goes a long way when it’s accompanied by praise for a job well done.